HENRIK SIGNELL, Sweden, that 1994 and 18 years old, became the first Swedish handball player to represent junior youth and A-national teams during one and the same season, then gold coach in IK Sävehof, and since 2016 the federal captain of the Swedish women's team.

"Certainly, I have won Partille Cup with my mother club. But also lost big on the asphalt on Vallhamra against teams you never heard of or even knew existed. However, it is not wins and losses but something else that I remember best.In 2010-13, in parallel with the tournament, a project called Olympic Solidarity was carried out. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) sponsored the International Handball Federation (IHF), which then invested in Partille Cup to broaden and spread handball to more countries.I got the honor to be one of the instructors for expectant participants and teams that came here every year. The age of the players varied. It could be a U-national team, or a pure club team with 14-year-olds out on their first trip. We were in Ucklumskolan in Sävedalen both long before and during the tournament. The teams came from Benin, Gabon, Iraq (Kurdistan), Cameroon, China, Nepal, Peru, Scotland, USA and from Zimbabwe.

The joy and appreciation were mutual. I made friends for life. In 2010 I was invited to Cameroon and 2014 to Zimbabwe as a thank you for the help. I was there for two weeks and trained young people who were enthusiastically interested in learning more. There were no limits to how they fought and sacrificed themselves.

The trip to Zimbabwe has characterized me and helped me understand the depth of relationships and the importance and scope of the Partille Cup worldwide. And in this context there are more things that fascinate. Even among Swedish youth. When we were gathered with the Swedish women's national team in early June, and qualified for the World Cup in Japan in November, I asked the girls in the squad how many had participated in Partille Cup and / or the parallel European Open. Believe or not - but it turned out that all 16 (100 percent!) carry experience from their own game in the tournament. Mighty ... yes, it's just the first name for this huge impact. "

Henrik Signell, Sweden